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Journalism of Courage
If it does go through,it might count amongst the speediest ascents up the corporate ladder in India. Insider reports suggest that Rohan Murty,son of Infosys co-founder and executive chairman Narayana Murthy,who was recently brought along by his father to be his executive assistant,would soon be re-designated to a senior position as vice president in the company.
,30,a Cornell and Harvard-educated PhD in computer science,had joined Infosys in June this year when his charismatic,billionaire-father Narayana Murthy returned as its executive chairman.
But Rohan Murty virtually denied the talk of an impending role change. On Monday morning,he told The Indian Express via email,My role as the executive assistant has not changed. If I comment on one rumour,I will have to do so for several more in the future.
His fathers response,emailed at about the same time,was more epigrammatic. These are internal matters,we will let you know when necessary, Narayana Murthy said,adding that he is currently immersed in meetings overseas.
Related: No leadership role for son Rohan: Narayana Murthy
As rumours swirled about the sons rise at the iconic software services firm,Infosys said in an official statement that Murtys appointment is pending approval with the ministry of corporate affairs.
Murthy had faced a barrage of criticism in June for bringing in his son to Infosys a deviation from his own,often-espoused corporate governance tenet that none of the founders children would hold any position at Infosys.
Besieged by the criticism at the time of his sons induction,Murthy had hastened to assure that his sons sole responsibility was to make the chairman more effective.
The younger Murty (who,like his mother,spells his last name without the h) would be paid a token salary of Re 1 salary is anyway inconsequential in the Murthys context given the familys large shareholding in Infosys.
Murthy,67,has made a comeback at Infosys,the company he co-founded 32 years ago at a critical time. The besieged company has stumbled in recent years,displaying a distinct lack of killer instinct when its competitors galloped away signing deals. In the next three or four quarters,Murthy has to show a turnaround by holding on to profit margins while pushing for bigger deals with customers.
In this scenario,both father and son are playing their cards close to the chest but obvious winds of change are blowing through Infosys. Murthy is back at his old corner office in the corporate block at Infosys headquarters. The Chairmans Office,where Murthy and Murty work,is once again buzzing with activity and is the epicentre of all decision-making and strategies.
The younger Murty himself keeps an ultra-low profile and is rarely seen around the campus,insiders say.
But changed designation or not,it is apparent that the junior Murty is playing an increasingly important role in the company. He is said to be reshaping units and strategies. He is reportedly auditing costs and targets closely.
He has had detailed meetings with key executives in the company. He sits in on client meetings with his father. Noticeably,there have been a series of high-level departures at Infosys.
